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S/MIME receipt requests behavior

Verified with Microsoft 365/Office 5568.1000 — updated on September 4, 2026

Microsoft 365/Office 5568.1000

Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7

Path in the GPO console

User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Outlook 2016\Security\Cryptography

Description

This policy setting controls how Outlook handles S/MIME receipt requests. If you enable this policy setting, you can choose from four options for handling S/MIME receipt requests in Outlook: - Open message if receipt can't be sent - Don't open message if receipt can't be sent - Always prompt before sending receipt - Never send S/MIME receipts If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, when users open messages with attached receipt requests, Outlook prompts them to decide whether to send a receipt to the sender with information about the identity of the user who opened the message and the time it was opened. If Outlook cannot send the receipt, the user is still allowed to open the message.

Registry

HKCU software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\security

More options available

Options

Handle messages with S/MIME receipt requests in the following manner:
respondtoreceiptrequests enum
  • Open message if receipt can't be sent -> 0 (default)
  • Don't open message if receipt can't be sent -> 3
  • Always prompt before sending receipt -> 1
  • Never send S/MIME receipts -> 2

Export Builder

BETA

Configure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.

These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO.

.reg file

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: S/MIME receipt requests behavior
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\security]
"respondtoreceiptrequests"=dword:00000000
More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)

PowerShell

# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: S/MIME receipt requests behavior
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.

$path = 'HKCU:\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\security'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'respondtoreceiptrequests' -Value 0 -Type DWord

Building a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.

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